Program Overview

Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen BA (Hons)

Key Facts

• UCAS Code: BA: W452, BA with Foundation: W453
• Level: Undergraduate, UG BA (Hons)
• Duration: Full Time: 3 years, Full Time Foundation: 4 years, Part Time: 4 - 6 years
• Starting: September
• Entry Requirements: BBC at A-Level or DDM at BTEC/Cambridge Technical
• UK Fees 25/26: Full Time: £9,535, Part Time: £1,585 (per 20 credits), Integrated Foundation Year: £9,535
• International Fees 25/26: Full Time: £15,700, Integrated Foundation Year: £15,700
• Location: Waterside

Overview

The Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen degree at the University of Northampton is specifically designed to provide you with a varied practical skills-set. The course aims to prepare you for a career within the make-up and special effects sector of the ever-growing creative industries. With a placement opportunity and a focus on the etiquettes of industry environments, this hair, make-up and prosthetics course has a strong employability focus. Alongside practical and employability skills, the programme provides historical and cultural academic contextualisation of hair, make-up and prosthetics across a range of stage and screen contexts.

Highlights

• A range of teaching and learning deliveries from practical workshops to interactive small group seminars.
• Opportunity to be taught by a team of both industry experts and published academic researchers.
• Gain actual industry experience and put what you have learnt into practice via a work placement element to the course.
• Be taught in our specially designed hair and make-up studio and prosthetics lab with industry standard facilities to prepare you for a career working in the make-up, hair and prosthetics sectors of the creative industries
• Discover more about this hair, make-up and prosthetics degree with our Introducing Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen video on YouTube.
• Guaranteed paid internship in accordance with the Northampton Employment Promise*
• HP laptop and software included with this course for eligible students* (*see Eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions)

Entry Requirements

• A typical offer for the Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics would be:
  • BBC at A-Level or,
  • DDM at BTEC/Cambridge Technical or,
  • M at T Level
• We welcome applications from a range of non-traditional education or professional qualifications, and also applications from students with a mix of A levels and BTEC/Cambridge Technical qualifications.
• Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) Entry Requirements:
  • Admission to this foundation hair, make-up and prosthetics programme is normally:
    • DEE at A-Level or,
    • MPP at BTEC,
    • Pass (D or E) at T Level
  • However, we would also like to hear from you if you have professional or industry experience instead, a range of other qualifications or self-developed subject knowledge that relates to the programme you wish to study.

Course Content

• Year 1 – Foundations of Theory and Practice:
  • Make-up for Stage, Screen and In-between (40 Credits)
  • Hair for Stage, Screen and In-between (40 Credits)
  • Cosmetic Constitutions: The Critical Connection Between Hair, Make-up and Identity (20 Credits)
  • Introduction to Fantasy Transformation (20 Credits)
• Year 2 – In Contexts of Theory and Practice:
  • Introducing Prosthetics (20 Credits)
  • Character Transformation in a Transmedia Universe: Prosthetics and Identity (20 Credits)
  • Advanced Hair, Wigs and Design (20 Credits)
  • Burnished, Buffed and Brushed: Bringing Together Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics (40 Credits)
  • Researching Trends in Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics (20 Credits)
• Year 3 – Specialised Arenas of Theory and Practice:
  • Professional Skills and Industry Etiquettes in Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics (20 Credits)
  • Short Dissertation (20 Credits)
  • Breaking the Mould: Advanced Prosthetics and 3D design (40 Credits)
  • Showcasing Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics (40 Credits)

Student Perks

• At the University of Northampton, everything we do, from funded trips to paid internships, is to give you everything you need to make a difference when you leave.
• If you join this full time Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics degree at the University of Northampton, you will receive a laptop when your course begins*.
• The laptops are built to a bespoke custom specification ideal for use in the seminar room, collaborative group work or studying at home.
• Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics degree, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.
• We’ve created the Northampton Employment Promise because we are so confident that if you focus on your studies and complete one of our awards you’ll be highly employable by the time you graduate. Putting you in a great position to secure employment or continue your studies.

Integrated Foundation Year (IFY)

• The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.
• If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year programme which includes an Integrated Foundation Year.
• The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award.

Fees and Funding

• 2025/26 Tuition Fees:
  • UK – Full Time: £9,535
  • UK – Part Time: £1,585 per 20 credit module
  • UK – Integrated Foundation Year: £9,535
  • International – Full Time: £15,700
  • International – Integrated Foundation Year: £15,700
• Additional Costs:
  • You are expected to purchase an introductory make-up and hair kit for the course which will support you throughout the programme. Our 2025/26 bespoke kit has a value of £650 and is supplied by TILT Professional Makeup. This is part funded by the University and can be purchased via our online shop for a discounted price of £350; this can be purchased once you have a confirmed place to study with us.
  • All consumables and essential items not included in your introductory kit and that are required for module delivery are provided to you throughout your studies. We ensure you have access to the appropriate materials and resources to demonstrate module learning outcomes and are for student use within the studio environment.
  • The cost of other materials, vary on an individual basis. These would be deemed ‘additional extras’ for non-essential elements to enhance your work. Optional additional costs may include props, costume, and styling items for creating holistic assessment pieces. If you choose not to include these optional extras in your work, you will not be impacted in any way. Operating in this way, enables students to work within their own individual budget allowances and the cost implications are individual to the nature of the work being undertaken.
  • We do advise that our students obtain their own liability insurance to support any external work placement undertaken over the summer of second year and into the final year of studies whereby work experience is mandatory. Student policies are available via BECTU, however, internal work placements are covered by the University policies.

Scholarships and Bursaries

• For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.
• For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.

Staff

• Senior Lecturer in Media & Cultural Theory - Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
• Senior Lecturer in Hair, Make Up & Prosthetics - Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
• Lecturer in Screen Studies - Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen BA (Hons)
• Senior Lecturer in Hair, Make Up & Prosthetics - Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
• Senior Lecturer in Media & Cultural Theory - Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology

Careers and Employability

• Upon successful completion of the Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics degree at the University of Northampton, students will be equipped with both practical skills and theoretical contextual knowledge of the Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics Creative Industries to work as (but not limited to):
  • Make-up artists and assistants
  • Specialist hair stylists
  • Wig designers
  • Prosthetics artists.

Related Courses

• Acting for Stage and Screen BA (Hons)
• Creative Film, Television and Digital Media Production BA (Hons)
• Film and Screen Studies BA (Hons)